Australia Day award recipients

Published on 01 February 2018

Congratulations to all the Australia Day award recipients for 2018.

In Bungendore, the Werriwa Wiener Dash was the Event of the Year, which has become one of the premier Daschshund events in Australia, and raises thousands of dollars for Dachshund Rescue Australia. Rhonda Foulds was Citizen of the Year. Rhonda has coordinated junior basketball in Bungendore for the last 23 years, motivating students of all levels to develop their skills. Young Citizen of the Year, Rohan Young, was recognised for his contributions to Scouts, mentoring of younger participants and being active in fundraising and coordination of an expedition to Nepal.

The Captains Flat Christmas Display competition run by the Seniors group was the Event of the Year. Amy Govers was Citizen of the Year, recognised for her efforts in the campaign to save the preschool and her work as teacher, vice principal and publicity officer. Dustin Hall was the Young Citizen of the Year because of his impact on the youth of Captains Flat village and his talents as an up and coming axe man.

In Braidwood, Noel Wisby was the Citizen of the Year for his contribution to the Braidwood community as business owner, founding director at the Braidwood Bendigo Bank, and helping secure funding for the dementia unit at Braidwood Hospital. Young Citizen of the Year was Patrick Martin who has represented the town as a mentor in the AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) program to support indigenous students. The Event of the Year was Braidwood and District Historical Society's "Capture of the Clarkes", which brought more than 4,500 people to Braidwood for the re-enactment of the capture of the Clarke brothers.

Robert "Bobby" Griffin was Queanbeyan's Citizen of the Year, recognised for his contributions to the sporting community over many years. Callum Anderson and Cody Southwell shared the Young Citizen of the Year award for their volunteer work with the Rural Fire Service and particularly their efforts on the Currandooley and Carwoola fires in 2017. The Queanbeyan Event of the Year was the Queanbeyan Park Run, which was launched in April 2017 and now has 750 members, with 10,000km covered by the runners. Misty Stebbing was awarded a Special Mayoral Award for her amazing role in relocating over 260 horses during the Carwoola bushfire.